American Dream?

Rise and Shine

I was woken by the gentle bird song going through my window. The morning rays of the sun were blinding me. I slowly regained my sight and lifted myself from my bed. Then it hit me. Bird song. I'd almost forgotten what it sounded like. I listened closely for the sounds of shouting, yelling and doors slamming. Nothing. It was so quiet, it scared me. Had someone broken in and killed my family?

I got ready for school as quickly as I could and I walked across the landing with a cricket bat in hand for protection. And then I heard it; a faint sizzling sound coming from the kitchen. No-one has used the cooker in years; we have been living of takeaways and microwave meals. What kind of criminal comes into a house, kills two people and then decides to have a fry up? I open the door. Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw.

I stared in utter amazement, paralyzed by the complete shock of the situation. There in front of me, my mother, in a floral summer dress and frilly apron, frying up a full English breakfast. Her hair was done up and she was actually wearing make-up for the first time in years. What the hell happened? No possible scenario I could think of could have made her completely change like this!

Could it be a new boyfriend? If it is, this guy must be really special, for her to go to the extreme of cooking. Her gaze broke from the frying pan, to the doorway where I was standing. A grin came to her face. My eyes started to well up as I realized I'd forgotten what my mother's smile looked like. I forced my tears away as I became more and more uneasy by the peculiar situation. I tried to smile back, but it was a fake smile, I just didn't want her to go through the pain of another breakup.

"Hey, sweetie! I made breakfast," she exclaimed holding her spatula into the air. I could only bring myself to say "I can see that." Then the extraordinary happened. She actually laughed. I didn't like this one bit. Something must be seriously wrong! She caught my skeptical expression and stop laughing, although a smile was still playing on her lips. "Serena's sleeping over at a Becca's house. She'll be back after school." I stood there, expression unchanged.

She carried on, not noticing my shock. "I have some good news-"

She was cut off by the sound of the door bell. Whitney and her group of friends were waiting for me to go. I looked up and the metallic clock that hung on the kitten wall. 8:00 a.m. I had to go to school.

"I...er...have to go to school." I stuttered as I walked past my mum to get a cereal bar out of the cupboard. 

"You don't want what a proper breakfast?" She asked cheerfully, indicating towards the plates next to her piled high with bacon, sausages, hash browns, etc. My mouth started salivating. I was transfixed by the glorious sight. The door bell rang again, pulling me to my senses.

"I don't have time." I forced out..

 "I'll tell you when you come back," my mum called out to me as I made a bee line towards the door.

I opened the door to be greeted by the most beautiful faces I have ever seen. These are the popular people from school. All 6 of them glaring at me and grimacing...except Whitney. If Whitney hadn't met me in playgroup, she would give me the same look and they all wouldn't be standing outside my house right now.

I know her friends hate me, along with most of the people at school. I just don't fit in, at least not into their perfect world. And the reason for that was because I actually had opinions that I wasn't afraid to express. I'd rather be myself and be hated for it that pretend to be someone I'm not and be loved for it.

Constantly by Whitney's side was her boyfriend, Seth. He was about six foot tall, blond, muscular and maybe one of the most tolerable of the group. He, unlike some of the other, actually made an effort to talk to me. It could just be because I'm friends with his girlfriend, but either way, I liked him. 

Whitney and Seth were the 'it' couple: head girl and boy at our school, part of the school council, senior sports, language and science ambassadors, captains in their chosen sports (for Whitney it is the Netball and Hockey team, for Seth the football and rugby team) and head chair people of the charity committee. 

They each have their very own entourage! The girls consist of Madison and Chelsea; both brunette and both bitchy. The whole of the school want to be them and are terrified of them at the same time. There they were at my door step with a piece of chewing gum wedged in their mouths, chewing obnoxiously loud and looking like they would rather be anywhere else. 

The boys are Nick and Jason. Nick was blonde, sexist, immature, and as thick as they come. Not to mention, smeared with fake tan that was borderline painful to look at.  Whereas Jason is tall, with deep blue eyes, dark brown hair, tanned (naturally) and a fringe that covers one eye. He, like Seth, was nice to me and genuinely wanted to talk to me. Although, unlike Seth, Jason did have a reason to like me. When everyone would glaring at me, even for a flash of a second, he smiled at me, reassuring me that I had a friend. I've always had a soft spot for him.

Jason usually shoots me with a smile whenever the rest aren't looking. When he does this though, my knees feel like they're about to buckle and my insides go to mush. I would really like to talk to him one day. And I don't mean small talk like we usually do, I want to talk to him about his dreams, his past, dragons, food, films, etc. You know, the important stuff. 

I avoided Jason's gaze (as I wouldn't be able to detach my eyes from his gorgeous face), ignored the others and looked straight at Whitney smiling. "Ready for school," she chirped. "I guess," I said with a shrug.